Difficult Conversations – Bringing the Knowledge Together

Early in 2017 I ran a ten week online course entitled “Holding Difficult Conversations”. There were 27 participants and it went down very well! I want to make sure that everyone can make teh most of this learning so I am putting everything together here.

Week 1: What Do You Really Want?

This first week looked at the notion of the “mindful pause” to help take a moment to consider what we really want in engaging in Difficult Conversations. Your article is here and your audio commentary presentation is here.

Week 2: Managing Thoughts About Others

Difficult Conversations often involve developing strong feelings about the people we are dealing with, this is often not helpful! Read more here and hear/see more here

Week 3: Managing Thoughts About Ourselves

Thoughts of our own success or failure feature greatly when we reflect on Difficult Conversations – learn more on how to manage this in your article here and listen to what I have to say here

Week 4: Setting up the Best Environmental Context

Getting the space right when dealing with challenging conversations is crucial – find out in the article here and presentation here

It’s very difficult to confidently dealing with Difficult Conversations if we don’t feel safe – here are some thoughts and a presentation here

Week 7: Using Your Body

Our control over our body language is crucial – learn to use your shows to the best effect! The article is here and the presentation here.

Week 8: Separating Positions from Needs and Interests

Understanding that the positions that people bring to an argument, may not be the best place for you to start understanding them, use “respectful inquiry” to help them talk about their unmet needs – here’s the article and here’s the presentation.

Week 9: “Abuse” and Other Labels

My experience is that people often use labels to identify how they feel – this can get in the way of a fruitful conversation. Read the article here and look/listen to the presentation here

Week 10: Learning from This and Other Experiences

It’s great to have a chance to read articles and watch presentations on a subject in which you are interested – but how do you help this to change the way you Hold Difficult Conversations in the future? Read how here.

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